Department of Medicine

November 20, 2014

Tindle to direct Tobacco Research and Treatment

November is well-known as Lung Cancer Awareness Month. It is also the month that highlights awareness of less publicized forms of cancer including pancreatic cancer and stomach cancer.

By VUMC News and Communications
November 13, 2014

Speaker explores promise of ‘bioelectronic medicine’

Can an implanted electrical device like a cardiac pacemaker effectively treat inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, including cases that have not responded to drug therapy?

By Bill Snyder
November 7, 2014

Overactive stress response in obesity

An overactive stress response contributes to the development of insulin resistance in obese individuals, and blocking it may be therapeutically beneficial.

By VUMC News and Communications
November 6, 2014

Cox to lead trans-institutional genetics efforts

Nancy J. Cox, Ph.D., professor of Medicine and Human Genetics and chief of the Section of Genetic Medicine at the University of Chicago, has been appointed founding director of a new genetics institute at Vanderbilt University, effective Jan. 1, 2015.

By Bill Snyder
November 6, 2014

Autonomic diseases consortium lands renewed federal funding

A nationwide research group headed by Vanderbilt University’s David Robertson, M.D., has received another round of funding from the federal government to continue studies of rare neurodegenerative diseases and disorders affecting blood pressure.

By Bill Snyder
November 6, 2014

Diabetes effort aims to boost function of insulin-producing cells

Vanderbilt University is part of a national effort to improve diabetes treatment by developing strategies for proliferating, regenerating and improving the function of insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreatic islets.

By Bill Snyder
October 30, 2014

NIH grant spurs diabetic nephropathy research

Diabetic nephropathy, or kidney disease caused by diabetes, is a major source of morbidity and mortality. In the United States, more than 30 percent of patients receiving either dialytic therapy or renal transplantation have end stage renal disease as a result of diabetic nephropathy.
By Kathy Whitney
October 24, 2014

Immune cells’ role in hypertension

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered that certain immune cells contribute to the development of hypertension, suggesting novel targets for treating the disease.
By Leigh MacMillan
October 23, 2014

VICC investigators earn breast cancer grants

The grants, which total $830,000, are part of the non-profit organization’s commitment to young scientists, as well as established investigators who are searching for more effective breast cancer therapies.
By VUMC News and Communications
October 20, 2014

New faculty: Dugan explores complexities of Alzheimer’s

Laura Dugan strives to bring breakthroughs in neuroscience research and the aging brain together.
By Nancy Humphrey
October 10, 2014

Aspirin and allergies

Drugs such as aspirin and indomethacin may increase sensitivity to airborne allergens by suppressing production of the signaling molecule PGI2, which in turn may offer a new treatment for allergies.
By VUMC News and Communications
October 2, 2014

Team spots key regulator for cholesterol production

A Vanderbilt University-led research team has discovered a “master regulator” for cholesterol production and transport in the liver — a tiny piece of RNA called microRNA-223.
By Bill Snyder
September 25, 2014

A path to sarcoidosis treatment

Vanderbilt investigators identify a new therapeutic target for the inflammatory lung disease sarcoidosis.
By VUMC News and Communications